500 Days of Summer is a 2009 romantic comedy that just so happens to be a great example of Knapp’s model” (233) of coming together and coming apart. In 500 Days of Summer the two main characters try to keep a relationship alive through the summer to no avail. 500 Days of Summer shows how two couples can be indifferent stages of coming together and coming apart even though they are in the same relationship. In addition 500 Days of Summer shows the real effects of relational dialectics such as Autonomy – connection dialectics on a romantic relationship.
The two star crossed lovers met through work and didn’t hit it off immediately, Summer seemed rude and stuck up. Tom even goes so far as to say on day 4 that “Pretty people think they can get
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Om day 259 their relationship takes its first major hit. Summer and Tom are at a bar and Summer gets hit on. The man is harassing Tom and Summer and eventually Tom and the other man get in a fight. Afterwards Tom and Summer get into an argument about their relationship, Summer says they’re just “friends” Tom yells back “I say we’re a couple” Tom them storms out. Summer comes over to Tom’s house in the night to make up, the next morning Tom and Summer talk about their past relationships and the two seems good but the issue of labeling their relationship is not settled. This fight is the start down the path of relationship termination. The differences in opinions about love which seemed to be unimportant before are becoming major issues and points of conflict. In this stage a couple “highlights their differences” (233) in a negative way, they are no longer fun and light they are coming between the members of the relationship. On day 282 summer and Tom go to an ikea together, they have a good day even though Summer seems distant and says she is not looking for anything “serious”. On day 290 Summer and Tom have jumped to termination and they have broken up. Tom is severely depressed from the relationship ending so abruptly Tom did not want the relationship to end but Summer said it should not go on because all they do is